12 Days of Crafting, Day 5: repurposing vintage cards

One of the greenest things we can do—anytime of year—is to give new life to old objects. Doing so reduces the need to manufacture new products and transport them over long distances to reach us.

What better place to look for vintage Christmas items than in an antique store?

Of course, you can buy retro Christmas trees and funky yard displays there if you want. But if your budget is small, head for the antique greeting cards and postcards, which usuall cost less than $2 or so.

Most shops have a box or drawer of cards, usually sorted by holiday or subject matter. Someone might have already written their holiday message inside (all the better, if you ask me), but the art on the outside of the cards is often in good condition.

There’s so much you can do with those charming old images. First and foremost, scan them into your computer so you can use them again and again.

Then, repurpose them in various ways, as you can see I did in the slideshow above.

(Hint: Some of the cards I used were purchased in an antique store. Others I found on Flickr and printed from my computer. That’s OK to do as long as you’re not selling what you make.)

Here are some ideas:
-Print them out and turn them into gift tags by cutting them into rectangles, clipping off two corners, punching a hole in the top and attaching a string.

-Turn them into place cards by making a cardboard stand for them with a small slit in it, cutting a slit of equal length in the bottom of the card, and writing your dinner guest’s name on front.

-Transform them into napkin rings by cutting them into narrow strips and wrapping them around cloth napkins. Tape or glue the ends together on the back side.

-Cut a circular shape from them to make rings for the bottoms of wine glasses to designate whose glass is whose (since a Christmas ham is nice, but spreading swine flu isn’t).

-Make a garland from the images and wrap it around your tree or hang it across a fireplace mantle. An easy way to do this is to glue the cards in between the two layers of a strip of bias tape.

-Cut a circle around the card’s main image, affix it to a long toothpick either with tape or glue, and use it as a cupcake topper.

The possibilities are endless. What ideas do you have?